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Senate resolution would bar American boots on the ground in Syria

syria.jpg

Black smoke rises as shelling continues in Damascus, Syria. The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on a resolution that would authorize limited U.S. military intervention in the conflict.
(Associated Press)

Any American intervention in Syria would prohibit the use of ground forces and would limit military action to 90 days, according to a copy of a U.S. Senate resolution obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday. The language of the resolution, to be debated Wednesday, has already been preliminarily agreed to by key lawmakers.

The resolution would set a
time limit of 60 days for any military intervention in Syria. President Barack Obama could extend that 30
more days unless Congress votes against it.

Last week, Obama said that instead of unilaterally ordering a strike in Syria, he would seek Congressional support
for any military action. The news came soon after U.S.
officials said they had solid evidence that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical
weapons on a massive scale against his own people, killing hundreds of
civilians.

Obama has received support from
House Speaker John Boehner, GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor and U.S.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for the limited use of force.

Congressional aides told the AP on Tuesday that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Bob Corker, the panel's top Republican, agreed to the resolution's language on Tuesday. The bill will be debated Wednesday, the same sources said.

Jindal's statement was made as Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials sat before Menendez's committee in Washington laying out details of a proposed congressional authorization of military action.

Keep watching NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune for more on this developing story.